Because You Loved Me (ON HIATUS)
by awkwardegleekell
Summary: "Is there any room left?" That was the voice of a manipulator. A person who she had once been close with. Somebody who had been her rock through her parent's conflicted relationship. Not her sister, Darcy. Not her ex, Jake. There before her eyes stood…Eli. Begins based on In The Cold Cold Night.What happened after Eclare kissed in In the Cold Cold Night?Collab with goldensunflowers
1. Prologue

**NOTE: *THE FIRST FEW CHAPTERS ARE LOOSLEY BASED OFF IN THE COLD, COLD NIGHT***

**Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi or any of the characters, especially Eli. (sadly)**

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**Because You Loved Me  
Collab by: awkwardegleesi & goldensunflowers**

**Prologue**

Clare brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and glanced up at the clock once more. _Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock._ The sounds of the clock blurred in her mind as she tapped her fingers rhythmically atop the wooden counter of the desk.

Heaving a sigh, she glanced towards the door awaiting the only two people willing to help her. People who had caused so much drama in the past. Connor and her ex-boyfriend, KC. _How ironic is that?_ She wondered.

They were barely her friends since all the romantic commotion in their grade nine year. Due to her wandering mind, she failed to hear the footsteps that rang in the hallway.

"Still have room for some more?" Clare whirled around at the sound of her former best friend, Alli.

"Of course," she stuttered weakly, hope lighting in her eyes at the sight of her former friends. Clare watched as Alli led Jenna, while KC and Connor trailed after them.

Clare gave Alli a slight hug, not wanting to push the limits of their already fragile reconnection in hopes of rebuilding their friendship. In high spirits, Clare began to assign jobs to her eager classmates. Checking her list, she came across an empty job slot.

"Anyone want to cover drama?" She questioned as she looked up from her clipboard.

Silence filled the air until Jenna's voice rang out.

"Anyone else you need to make up with?"

Clare looked at Jenna with a confused expression on her face but turned sharply once she heard a small clearing of someone's throat.

"Is there any room left?" That was the voice of a manipulator. A person who she had once been close with. Somebody who had been her rock through her parent's conflicted relationship. Not her sister, Darcy. Not her ex, Jake. There before her eyes stood…Eli.

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**AND VOILA! There it is, our short (sorry!) but sweet prologue. COMING SOON: the next chapter, filled with sappy eclare moments that involves cauliflower soup. Hope you enjoyed it and R&R!**

**(which subtly means: REVIEW PLEASE I'M BEGGING YOU; KINDA DYING HERE.)**

**LOL.**

**Okay.**

**Well.**

**R&R!**

**-awkwardegleesi(get my username? No? okay.) and goldensunflowers! (familiar? Yup. I write for the Maximum Ride fandom. LOl check me ouuutttttt.) :P**


	2. Chapter 1

**AND HERE IT IS! CHAPTER ONE!**

**Disclaimer: IDOD or Eli. (WHYY?)**

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**Chapter 1**

"Eli." Clare gaped as he slouched against the doorframe.

"Hey. I heard you needed help with the paper." Eli replied smoothly as he tilted his head just enough that his bangs brushed over his eyes. God, he still had that mysterious aura to him that drew her to him like a moth to honey. _ Uh, I mean, like a bee to honey. See what he does to me? Oh, great. I'm talking to myself._

"Clare—uh, you there?" Jolting out of her thoughts, Clare gave a nervous chuckle before turning her attention back to Eli.

"Um, hi. So if you want to help…would you cover the drama section?"

"Of course. I'll even cover the play I wrote this semester." Clare shot a panicked look at Alli. _Is he seriously talking about that again? Does he still have feelings for me?_ At the thought of that, Clare received an unwelcome giddy feeling that fluttered from her stomach as if there were butterflies living there. _Ugh. Look at me now. I'm talking in freaking clichés._

Eli laughed at her expression and replied hastily by saying, "Chill. I was just joking; of course I'll help you."

As they started to work like busy bees and a honey hive, Clare sneaked glances at Eli's working form constantly. Little did she know, he did the same.

* * *

"This is actually a really good article, Eli. Good Job." She mused as she looked up and smiled at his expectant face.

"Thanks," He said with a smirk. Shouldering his backpack, he glanced at the clock, frowning as the bell that signified the next peiod rang. "Do you maybe want to join me for lunch?"_ Uh oh. This was heading into a danger zone._

"Uh, actually, that doesn't seem like a good idea. I'll, um, see you around." She hesitantly stalked out of the classroom, not seeing Eli's crestfallen expression. _Oh no…what have I done?_

* * *

Clare rushed down the hallway, stopping briefly to chuck her books and binders into her locker before retrieving her lunch bag and heading to the cafeteria. As she passed by the memorial that was founded in honour of JT Yorke, the student that was stabbed years ago, she spotted a dark headed male sitting alone on the bench.

Her breath caught and she paused in her steps to see Eli, sitting alone eating a sandwich. A pang of guilt went through her when she remembered her harsh decline to his lunch invitation. Hesitantly, she pushed the door leading in to the memorial and greeted Eli with a meek, "Hello."

Eli swung around and caught her eyes with his.

"Hey."

Clare shuffled from one foot to the other. "Uh, can I join you?"

His head shot up from his sandwich. "Uh, yeah. Here." He patted the seat beside him, shoving his backpack under the bench to make room for her.

She eased herself onto the bench slowly and set her lunch bag beside her.

"What do you have?"

Clare rummaged through her bag and pulled out a thermos with a weak grin. "Cauliflower soup."

"Ahh.." Eli nodded and resumed looking at this sandwich.

An awkward silence ensued. Clare fumbled with the lid of her thermos and her grip slipped slightly.

_Oh no. _

SPLASH! The cauliflower soup doused Eli's pants, covering his thighs with scalding liquid.

_Crap._

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**Ugh, Sorry for the short chapter. They'll get longer later, we promise! Next, what will Eli's reaction to the soup be? Lotsa fluff later…as fluffy cotton candy. (pun intended) SO READ AND REVIEWWWWW (: We'll be updating sooon, hopefully.**

**R&R!**

**-awkwardegleesi(hopefully you guys get my username by now) & goldensunflowers(hope you enjoyed it! :P)**


	3. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I STILL DON'T OWN DEGRASSI OR ELI...sadly. I also don't own How Will I Know by Whitney Houston**

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**Chapter 2**

The searing heat radiating from the soup was like someone had branded with a fire poker. _Oh, God. #%^! Did Clare do that on purpose? God. She must be trying to get rid of . no she looks like she's about to cry. Wait. I'm the one that gooot burned...I should be the one crying. Wait. I'm the man here. _

"Ohhhmmmy goddd. I am sooo sorry! I ruined your pants!" Clare shrieked, her voice filled with guilt, "Um, HERE. I have some napkins." Clare hastily dabbed at his pants with the napkin, unknowingly going higher and higher up his thighs.

Jerking away from Clare's touch, Eli exclaimed quickly, "Eeep..um..no..uhhh...no, it's alright, they're just uniform pants." Eli gave a small smile of reassurance to Clare_. Was she doing that on purpose to get closer to me. Did she mean go near my..um...area?_ Eli smirked at the thought of Clare being _his_again. Not that he didn't like that thought, but he wasn't sure what she thought.

"Um, well, I've got to go clean this up," Eli gestures toward his cauliflower covered lap, "I guess I'll see you tonight."

"Sure, um, well yeah, I'll see you then!" Eli strode out of the room before his fellow peers could see the mess that was plastered to his pants. He walked so quickly that he didn't hear Clare offer her help.

* * *

Whipping the door to the boy's bathroom, Eli went straight to the bathroom sink, looking at his reflection. Giving a sigh, he braced his hands onto the edge of the sink, deep in thought.

_So maybe this was an omen. Maybe she really wants to get back together. Does she mean what I think she's saying? I know that she thinks that she's going to "set me off". I can't go through the same thing that happened with Imogen. I still remember the pain of the first time Clare and I broke up, though I think that most of the pain was due to my broken leg...but still! PAIN!_

Eli frustratedly pounded his fist on the sink, hoping to find an easy solution. _ Heartbreak happens. Maybe this time it'll be better. I can't wait for the meeting tonight, maybe I get Clare alone._

Eli started to rush out of the bathroom, before realization dawned on him. _Oh crap. Pants._

And with that he began to scrub at his pants.

* * *

"Hey, guys," Clare said excitedly, sweeping into the room with a big smile on her face. "I have a special treat for you all to thank you for the awesome work you guys did on the newspaper." Clare left the room for a moment, before bouncing back into the room, a mischievous smile on her face, and a box of cheese pizza in her hands.

"Dig in!" She addressed to everyone, whipping open the lid of the first box and allowing the smell of fresh pizza to curl around the room and make everyone's mouth water. Eli and the others happily pounced at the cheese filled pizza, mumbling a "Thanks" around their bites of pizza. Though, Eli was busy attacking his slice or _slices_of pizza, he still had a one track mind, and it was on Clare.

Even though he wasn't much of a Whitney fan...not a fan at all, he thought wryly, Eli remembered that one song that had popped up recently in his head. He had been on his way to school while he was flicking through the radio channels and came across Whitney Houston's _How Will I Know._

_I say a prayer with every heart beat _  
_I fall in love whenever we meet _  
_I'm asking you what you know about these things _  
_How will I know if he's thinking of me _  
_I try to phone but I'm too shy (can't speak) _  
_Falling in love is all bitter sweet _  
_This love is strong why do I feel weak_

Though Eli hated anything that wasn't punk rock, this song seemed to stick, because it kind of explained what went between him and Clare every single time he snuck a glimpse at her in all her coppery bronze headed, curly haired perfection. There went his poetic side, he sighed before straightening and putting down his paper plate.

"Hey, Clare...you want some help with printing the newspapers?" Eli offered, a hesitant hope gleaming in the dark depths of his eyes. Clare looked up from her conversation with Jenna and gave a small, surprised nod. "Oh..-uh, sure. You can help print-"

"RACE YOU TO THE PRINTERS!" Eli shouted behind him as he left Clare with a shocked look plastered on her face. Looking back, he saw her face crumple a bit, and as he staggered back toward her, with a slightly confused expression, Clare broke out into a grin and sped ahead.

"YOU PLAYED ME! YOU MANIPULATED ME!" Eli shouted after her, making little references to the dramatic scene that had played out when they broke up."Oh, shut up," she taunted before he retorted back with a mocking voice, "DID YOU FLICK A SWITCH AND ERASE ME FROM YOUR MEMORY?!"

Clare gave a smirk but decided to play along with his little joke and replied derisively, "Did you ever love me?!" She mocked, making a little reference when she freaked out on Eli that night at Above the Dot.

Eli looked at her, his face serious, and his playful manner fell away as he replied with a serious look on his face and a matching tone. "Who said I stopped?"

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**Sorry for the wait! We went on a mini hiatus, but we have more ideas and are ready to write, there will probably be another chapter soon, but we're not really sure about other chapters.**

**awkwardegleesi: Hope you guys liked Eli's point of view! I LOOVVE ELI! Remember to review!**

**goldensunflowers: helloooooo (: hope you guys liked it...:D loved the last sentence from eli! REVIEWWWW. pleasee? (: with chocolate chips and oodles and oodles of yummy icy cold cream? LOl :D hope you liked it!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: IDOD or Eli. (WHYY?)**

**NOTE: THIS IS THE CHAPTER WHERE THINGS START TO CHANGE AND NOT GO ALONG WITH THE ORIGINAL PLOT.**  
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**Chapter 3**

"Who said I stopped?"

Eli's words rung in Clare's ears as she gaped at him, mouth hanging open. Did he _really _just say that? Clare gulped as she continued to stare at Eli , as if they shared a mind, they both leaned in on sync, their lips, slowly pressing against each other for one brief moment before they shockingly pulled away and looked at the ground in slight horror and shock.

Clare had felt electricity flowing through her and though it sounded cliche, she had felt fireworks, an experience never received when it came to KC or Jake. She blushed, colouring her cheeks a pretty pink as she unconsciously reached up a hand to touch her lips...where Eli's had been just a moment before.

Eli, on the other hand, loved every second, but when he glanced at Clare, he noticed that she was looking at the ground with what seemed to him like shame. _It was a stupid move. I never should have tried to see if Clare and I could ever feel the same again. _

The pair slowly walked to the copy room, and though there was only a few feet behind them, to them, it felt like miles. "So..ah..what did you want me to do?" asked Eli, trying to ease the tension hanging between them. Clare, looking a bit distracted, jumbled out a series of instructions and a list of what had to be done.

And together, they silently printed out the papers that they needed, both trying not to breach the tension that was thick enough to be cut by a knife.

* * *

"This is _amazing_," gushed Clare. Eli watched amusedly, as she stuffed another piece of fluffy cotton candy into her mouth, staining her tongue a light blue. The tension between them had evaporated once the newspapers had been printed and they were both stunned by the final copy of the papers. "I can't believe the papers turned out exactly the way they were supposed to! They were PERFECT!"

Clare gave him another grin and took another bite out of her cotton candy, courtesy of Eli who'd treated her to one once they'd finished the final touches for the paper.

Eli grinned back as well, but before he could take a bite out of his own cotton candy, Clare pegged," This is weird, I never thought you would have been the type to enjoy cotton candy." She eyed her rapidly diminishing supply of cotton candy and looked pointedly at his own.

"Well, there's a lot you don't know about me," he said slyly as he took a huge bite out of it. The sugary taste filled his mouth and though many loved the snack, he hated it. It was just too sweet, although, he wouldn't mind if it got the tension between them to ease slightly.

"BLEEECH. Oh, God. You were right, this is terrible," Eli spat as he sputtered the candy out of his mouth and into a garbage can. He threw the rest of his cotton candy out as well, because, he wasn't going to eat it anyways. He heard Clare giggle and smiled to himself. He watched her silently, the glow of the nearby carnival rides lighting up her face as she bit thoughtfully into her so called "delicious" treat.

"Hey, Clare, I just got to ask this, did you really think that hanging out with me would 'set me off'?" Eli questioned, a slightly hurt expression plastered on his handsome face.

"It wasn't you I was worried about," Clare answered quietly, looking at the gravel strewn ground solemnly. She slowly lifted her eyes to see Eli's dark chocolatey eyes staring hard at her.

But before either of them could make a move, a honk of a car horn was heard behind them. Both turned around to see Eli's dad, Bullfrog, waiting in a dark car. "Let's go, we have got a busy day ahead of us tomorrow," shouted Bullfrog once he'd lowered the window.

"I'm going on vacation during the break," Eli explained sheepishly as Clare gazed questioningly at the car behind them. Eli then slowly made his way to the waiting car.

Clare panicked."WAIT! Eli!" Eli turned to see her standing there with a look on her face that he couldn't discern.

"What? What is it?" But before either of them knew what was happening, Clare quickly pecked a small kiss on his lips. Eli opened his mouth to say something but Clare pressed a finger on his lips stopping him. Their foreheads touched for a brief moment before they drew apart. "I-" started Clare but was interrupted by the honk of a horn. Turning, disappointedly, Eli gestured he'd be there soon.

"We'll talk when you get back," Clare said softly. Eli nodded and turned back toward the waiting car, and as the car drove away into the darkness, Clare watched, a small smile playing at the edge of her lips.

* * *

Back in the car, Eli slumped down into the leather of the seats. His dad looked at him from the corner of one eye. "You alright?" as he made a turn onto the highway, headlights cutting a path through the dark. "Yeah," Eli responded, flicking his dark bangs out of his eyes,"I'm fine." _More than fine,_ he thought gleefully. Clare had finally responded to his actions...and he messed it up with his abrupt departure. _Ugh. I really don't want to go to New York. I just want to stay here with her and maybe, we'll get back together._

* * *

Clare, on the other hand, was walking around the frostival, finishing off her cotton candy, but the candy no longer tasted sweet. She thought over the recent events, and with a smile she briskly sped to find Alli and tell her what had just played out. _Maybe when Eli comes back from New York, we'll get back together. _Clare thought, trying not to get her hopes up. _Maybe. Just maybe._

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**UGHHHH. Crappy ending. Sorry about the long wait, we promise to update soon. R&R people! After this chapter, I'm not really sure about other chapters, but I AM DETERMINED TO FINISH THIS STORY. If you have any ideas about what you want to happen, just PM me. THAT'S ALL FOR NOW FOLKS:)**


	5. Please Read

Hey guys, it's me, awkwardegleekell.

I've thought long and hard about this, but I've been so busy with other Fanfictions, that I have decided to take a short break from this story. I really wanted to finish this story, but to be honest, because this was my first fanfic, I have no idea where I'm going with this. I've sorry, guys, but there will be that day, when I have all these ideas rushing through my head and I will write it down and make it into a chapter. Also, it's been a long time since me and goldensunflowers have seen each other, and we're both so busy with school. But don't worry guys, me and gs might see each other near the end of January, so all is not lost!

I hope you guys understand, so for a while, this is the last time I will say,

That's all for now, folks.

-Kelly


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